Cypress Villages

March 2013, Riley and dozens of others assisted community founder Dan Walker with the planting of 8,000 trees at Cypress Villages. –Cypress is a 140 acre eco-community located in Southeast Iowa that boasts the state’s first LEED Platinum certified home.

The trees were planted as part of the Conservation Reserve Program; a voluntary program which offers cost-share assistance and incentive payments to those wishing to use their land for conservation purposes.

As the trees mature and become well established, they will serve to clean the air, reduce water run-off and erosion, improve the quality of groundwater, lakes, and rivers, and increase the wildlife population. Specific species include: white oak, red oak, silver maple, black walnut, swamp oak, cherry trees, Kentucky coffee. sycamore, and several varieties of pine.

Riley looks forward to witnessing the growth of this little forest and feels privileged to have been a part of such a worthwhile, meaningful project. If you’re interested in learning more about what’s going on at Cypress, or if you’d like to take a tour, send Dan an email via the Cypress Village contact page.